Orthodox Church Sings Putin's Hymn

As troops loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin were seizing control of Crimea, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow deduced that an "internal political crisis" in Ukraine was threatening its territorial integrity.

Patriarch Kirill's words echoed Putin's argument - ridiculed in the West - that armed units in Ukraine's southern region were not Russian soldiers but self-defense forces fearing for their safety under the new order in Kiev.